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Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire :: Rowling Joanne Kathleen
Страница: 274 из 433Ages and ages…nearlyall the bubbles had gone.…"
"Underwater…" Harry said slowly. "Myrtle…what lives in the lake, apart from the giant squid?"
"Oh all sorts," she said. "I sometimes go down there…sometimes don't have any choice, if someone flushes my toilet when I'm not expecting it.…"
Trying not to think about Moaning Myrtle zooming down a pipe to the lake with the contents of a toilet. Harry said, "Well, does anything in there have a human voice? Hang on -"
Harry's eyes had fallen on the picture of the snoozing mermaid on the wall.
"Myrtle, there aren't merpeople in there, are there?"
"Oooh, very good," she said, her thick glasses twinkling, "it took Diggory much longer than that! And that was with her awake too" — Myrtle jerked her head toward the mermaid with an expression of great dislike on her glum face — "giggling and showing off and flashing her fins.…"
"Thats it, isn't it?" said Harry excitedly. "The second task's to go and find the merpeople in the lake and…and…"
But he suddenly realized what he was saying, and he felt the excitement drain out of him as though someone had just pulled a plug in his stomach. He wasn't a very good swimmer; he'd never had much practice. Dudley had had lessons in his youth, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, no doubt hoping that Harry would drown one day, hadn't bothered to give him any. A couple of lengths of this bath were all very well, but that lake was very large, and very deep…and merpeople would surely live right at the bottom.…
"Myrtle," Harry said slowly, "how am I supposed to breathe ?"
At this, Myrtle's eyes filled with sudden tears again.
"Tactless!" she muttered, groping in her robes for a handkerchief.
"What's tactless?" said Harry, bewildered.
"Talking about breathing in front of me!" she said shrilly, and her voice echoed loudly around the bathroom. "When I can't…when I haven't…not for ages…"
She buried her face in her handkerchief and sniffed loudly. Harry remembered how touchy Myrtle had always been about being dead, but none of the other ghosts he knew made such a fuss about it.
"Sorry," he said impatiently. "I didn't mean — I just forgot…"
"Oh yes, very easy to forget Myrtle's dead," said Myrtle, gulping, looking at him out of swollen eyes. "Nobody missed me even when I was alive. Took them hours and hours to find my body — I know, I was sitting there waiting for them.
"Underwater…" Harry said slowly. "Myrtle…what lives in the lake, apart from the giant squid?"
"Oh all sorts," she said. "I sometimes go down there…sometimes don't have any choice, if someone flushes my toilet when I'm not expecting it.…"
Trying not to think about Moaning Myrtle zooming down a pipe to the lake with the contents of a toilet. Harry said, "Well, does anything in there have a human voice? Hang on -"
Harry's eyes had fallen on the picture of the snoozing mermaid on the wall.
"Myrtle, there aren't merpeople in there, are there?"
"Oooh, very good," she said, her thick glasses twinkling, "it took Diggory much longer than that! And that was with her awake too" — Myrtle jerked her head toward the mermaid with an expression of great dislike on her glum face — "giggling and showing off and flashing her fins.…"
"Thats it, isn't it?" said Harry excitedly. "The second task's to go and find the merpeople in the lake and…and…"
But he suddenly realized what he was saying, and he felt the excitement drain out of him as though someone had just pulled a plug in his stomach. He wasn't a very good swimmer; he'd never had much practice. Dudley had had lessons in his youth, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, no doubt hoping that Harry would drown one day, hadn't bothered to give him any. A couple of lengths of this bath were all very well, but that lake was very large, and very deep…and merpeople would surely live right at the bottom.…
"Myrtle," Harry said slowly, "how am I supposed to breathe ?"
At this, Myrtle's eyes filled with sudden tears again.
"Tactless!" she muttered, groping in her robes for a handkerchief.
"What's tactless?" said Harry, bewildered.
"Talking about breathing in front of me!" she said shrilly, and her voice echoed loudly around the bathroom. "When I can't…when I haven't…not for ages…"
She buried her face in her handkerchief and sniffed loudly. Harry remembered how touchy Myrtle had always been about being dead, but none of the other ghosts he knew made such a fuss about it.
"Sorry," he said impatiently. "I didn't mean — I just forgot…"
"Oh yes, very easy to forget Myrtle's dead," said Myrtle, gulping, looking at him out of swollen eyes. "Nobody missed me even when I was alive. Took them hours and hours to find my body — I know, I was sitting there waiting for them.